The Amazon Way
by The Altered Destinies
Summary: When hope seems lost and the future looks grim, where else to turn but to the past to seek redress for mistakes long past? That is the decision Ukyo and Shampoo must face when opting to use the repaired Nanban mirror in order to go back and create alternate timelines where each of them has a shot at happiness with their beloved Ranma
1. Chapter 1

The Amazon Way

(An Altered Destiny)

by Jim Robert Bader

(Based on the Works of Rumiko Takahashi)

Part One.

Airen Iinazuke

Birthdays were supposed to be a happy occasion, a time for rejoicing when the celebration of life gave way to new possibilities, new paths left open. In China the occasion was marked by family and friends coming together to wish a joyous New Year of rebirth where the memory of one's ancestors was honored by the promise that new life would be added in time to the family ledgers.

For Shampoo the advent of her eighteenth birthday was not a happy occasion. For two years of her life she had been pursing a dream, and now that dream was all but finally over. She would be eighteen and still single, and in all likelihood she would not live to see another birthday when this happened.

"Ranma," she said softly, her voice conveying a sadness beyond her years as thoughts of surrender to the dark made whatever small joys she might have seem trivial and empty. In three days she would be a woman, and would acknowledge her failure. After that what passed for her life would be over, and she would strangely not regret its passing. Far better to go now than endure the long torture that awaited her in years that were forthcoming.

Normally Mousse would be spying on her about this point, trying to offer what support he could, even though he knew she would have none of him. Two years had given her time to see him for the man he was, and while there were many admirable qualities within him, there was nothing there that she sincerely wanted. She had made that plain to him at last, and after much struggle on his part he had finally relented, giving her the privacy she had always craved rather than his cloying presence.

"Ranma," Shampoo sighed, staring up at nothing, seeing memories and reflections of better times, of fonder memories, now slowly turning to ashes. He was not hers to claim, had never been hers, belonged to someone else whom she hated with a passion, and so she had lost to the one enemy she had never had any hope of defeating.

Great Grandmother Cologne was making the preparations for their return to China, but Shampoo could not have cared less if she had made the effort. There was nothing for her in China, just as there was nothing now in Nerima. Two years of her life wasted, down the drain, and all for naught. She had made friends and enjoyed many adventures in that time, but now it was all over. Life itself was losing its glamour and all that was left to her was the emptiness of her continual existence.

Oh yes, the laws said that she had broken the sacred trust of the Amazons and was fit only for punishment, but the law meant less to her now than the na ve little girl who had made her way from the interior of China on a quest of vengeance that would never be completed. She had fallen in love with a man who was in every way what she desired, and lost him, had never had him, never would have him for her own. The thought of this almost crushed her soul, so even if Cologne could work something out with the tribe to spare her from death or exile it ultimately would not matter. Ranma was marrying Akane, and so her life was over.

"Well, aren't you a pathetic sight."

Shampoo turned, grateful for the intrusion, glad to feel something besides her misery as she scanned the empty restaurant until she set eyes on her once hated rival, the other loser in romance. This one also claimed her Airen for herself, but her claim was based on a promise, while Shampoo's claim was a matter of law and willing submission. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the familiar face, then with as much resentment as she could manage she asked, "What you want, Spatula Girl?"

The sad smile in Ukyo's face was a reflection of her own misery as she said, "Ranma-Honey told you the same thing he told me, right? Guess the old saying is 'Misery loves company,' although in our case it's more like 'Two Birds of a Feather.' We're in the same boat, so I thought maybe you'd like..."

"Shampoo no like be with girl who think she weak and need handhold!" Shampoo snapped as she whirled around, "Leave restaurant now, or you find how weak Shampoo is, you stupid Japanese Tomboy!"

"Whoah!" Ukyo said without reacting as expected, "Touched a nerve, did I? I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to step on anybody's toes here, Shampoo. I'm sorry if I surprised you, I just wanted to talk. I thought maybe you might want to talk instead of fight for a change. After all, it won't make any difference who wins any more...we both lost and we both know it."

Shampoo felt the edge of her anger leave her and almost wept as if she were losing another companion, "Shampoo no lose...Shampoo just tired of always fighting. No want to fight with Spatula Girl. It not mean anything anymore..." she lowered her gaze and said, "Nothing matter anymore. Shampoo tired of everything, just want to be alone now..."

"Alone?" Ukyo sniffed, "Trust me, Honey, alone is the last thing you need at the moment. I've been alone since I chased Konatsu out of the restaurant and tried to drink myself under the table with the Saki bottle I normally keep for special orders. An hour ago I even tried to kill myself, if you can believe it..."

"Hiyaa?" that did surprise Shampoo, "Why you do that?"

"Why do you think," Ukyo snorted, "I turned on the gas without the pilot lights and flooded the restaurant with methane. One spark and it would have been a giant crater where my place was staying, but at the last minute something stopped me."

"You come to senses?" Shampoo asked with more interest than she would have believed possible. For the first time she did not see a hated rival in Ukyo but rather a dark reflection of her own depression.

"I'm not sure what to call it," Ukyo said, "Divine intervention, or maybe just a random encounter with a higher power. All I know is I stopped myself in time, and then I thought of you and came over here as fast as I could manage. Something told me you were feeling the exact same way I was before I opened up the windows and aired out my restaurant.

"What you mean?" Shampoo pretended ignorance.

In reply Ukyo let fly one of her spatula-shaped shuriken, and down from the rafters fell a loop of rope that had been dangling from the ceiling.

"Hanging yourself, Shampoo?" Ukyo sighed, "That's so tacky. You ever see how long it takes somebody to die that way? Believe me, it isn't pretty."

"Why you care?" Shampoo asked indifferently, "You no try to stop me..."

"Actually," Ukyo said, "I'm here to help...in any way I can. I know exactly how you feel, Shampoo...maybe even a little more than you since I knew Ranma longer..."

"You know nothing," Shampoo snorted, "Stupid outsider, what you know of how Amazon girl feel when she lose husband to jealous, violent, obsessive gorilla girl? Shampoo weak because she no can win love of Ailen..."

"Just because Ranma Honey is an idiot is no reason for you to feel small," Ukyo sighed, "I've been berating myself for being less attractive to him than Akane, of all people! I mean, have you looked in a mirror lately, Shampoo-Honey? The guy who couldn't find you attractive is either Gay or not breathing!"

"You mean that as compliment?" Shampoo sat down near to where Ukyo was and sulked, "No waste time. Shampoo fail to uphold law of Amazon, now she must be punished according to law..."

"You mean they're going to kill you?" Ukyo said in surprise and horror.

Shampoo snorted at that, "You think Joketsuzoku full of barbarians? No kill Shampoo for failure to get husband. Shampoo have other punishment, much loss of face, dishonor to family, maybe exile or strip of Amazon status. Shampoo live because Great Grandmother say she no at fault for losing to Akane. It Shampoo...it my decision to make end of miserable life because I girl who fail to win heart of Ranma, and I no want live in world where he belong to Akane."

Ukyo stared at her onetime rival for the longest time before speaking again, "And what if there's another option."

"What?" Shampoo snorted, "Marry Mousse? I rather be dead either way! Him finally get hint and leave Shampoo alone. There no man Shampoo want if no can have Ranma. Ranma no choose Shampoo, so Shampoo no have any reason worth living."

"And what if there was a reason for both of us to go on living?" Ukyo replied, then unwrapped something she had been clutching in one hand and showed it to Shampoo, who stared at it with surprise.

"Nanban Mirror?" Shampoo asked with a curious expression, "What you think we use it for?"

"Changing our past," Ukyo replied, "The guy who saved me from killing myself said I'd know what to do with it, and that's when I thought about you and realized that he meant for both of us to have it."

"Both of us?" Shampoo replied in confusion.

"I've thought it over, Honey," Ukyo said, "And if the Mirror can help us change just one significant event in our lives, then whatever we do has got to be the clincher. If I went back to when I was six and convinced my father not to engage me to Ranma then those ten years I spent training for revenge will never have happened, but that just doesn't satisfy me in any way, so I have to think of something else that would change everything, and then I remembered that I'd still have to deal with you even if I did prevent Ranma from becoming engaged to Akane. I wondered if maybe you'd rather go back to your first meeting with him when you thought he was a girl and challenged him to that match..."

"No," Shampoo sighed, "Maybe change everything she no fight girl-type Ranma and give kiss of death...but Shampoo no want to change that. That moment...special...moment when everything in Shampoo change, when she no longer be just a simple village girl training to be leader of Amazons. If Shampoo no chase Ranma from village she never learn how big world is, how small is village, and how much there is to know. Chasing Ranma gave Shampoo chance to live, and I no want to change that."

"Then...something else?" Ukyo asked with a sigh, "I'm desperate here. In a few days time Ranma's going to marry Akane, and we both know what a disaster that will be! I'd rather he married either one of us before he went ahead and fulfilled that stupid, Jackassed plan of their fathers to unite their families by having Ranma-Honey marry Akane."

"You also think she violent girl who beat up Ailen and maybe one day kill him out of anger?" Shampoo asked, voicing her darkest fears about Akane.

"Actually it's just as likely that they'll both live to a ripe old age together," Ukyo replied, "Either way it's a disaster...for us anyway. I agree that she's violent, and with that kind of temper I don't put anything beyond her, but I don't think Akane would deliberately try to kill Ranma. At least I don't think she would...not by intention."

Shampoo had to snort derisively at that comment, "Akane have much anger, no have much control, and Ranma always find just right thing to say to make her even more angry. I always wonder why she hit Ranma when she mad at Shampoo. Why she blame him because Shampoo try make Ranma like me? I never succeed, no matter what Shampoo try. He always go back to Akane."

"The Saotome pride," Ukyo sighed, "Ranma's as stubborn as a mule and he'd never admit that Akane's too much for him to handle. Besides that he's got his family's honor to worry about, not that he seems to much like it. It's his mother and father who keep pushing him into this, but I'm pretty sure it's more than just him going along with the marriage to please him."

Shampoo felt tears form in her eyes as she looked down, "He love Akane. Shampoo never understand why he love Akane, but he do. Shampoo...finally see that..."

"Same here," Ukyo said tiredly, "And I don't mind telling you it makes me sick to my stomach. Ranma can be such a Jackass, doing things the hard way, never because it's the right thing to do but because somebody challenged him to do it. I think in all honestly I'd rather he did marry you, or that you took him back to China so the two of you can have a litter of kittens together. At least I could live with the thought that he'd still be alive with somebody who doesn't hit him every day for the least little reason..."

Shampoo gave Ukyo a quiet look, "You no want him for yourself? You think Shampoo some violent bimbo who no care about Ranma except as prize to be won? Shampoo tell you something...she always think you more rival than Akane! You love Ailen, and Shampoo know you treat him right if he was husband. I die happy if I know you marry him, not Akane. At least Ranma live..." Shampoo looked down again, "Rather lose to opponent I respect, or respect more than Akane."

"So," Ukyo said quietly, "We're right back where we started this mess: how can we change the past to prevent Ranma from marrying Akane? Obviously we could go back to the night when the fathers got them engaged..."

"No," Shampoo said tiredly, "They engage children when Ranma born. Panda teach son to fight to make him great Martial Artist so he marry and keep traditions of Tendo dojo. If change that maybe change reason Ranma best at what he is...and Shampoo no want to change that about him."

"Then something that could break up the engagement before Ranma even met Akane," Ukyo sniffed, "I've thought about taking Akane out of the picture...not killing her, of course, but doing something that would disqualify her from being considered, but then the engagement would just fall on either Kasumi or Nabiki, and we'd be right back where we started..."

"Only worse," Shampoo snorted, "Kasumi mother Ranma, he no refuse her hand in marriage. As for sneaky girl...she sell Ranma body to science and make Ailen suffer experiments while she sell dojo for profit."

"I guess you're right," Ukyo considered, "So...what if Ranma knew he was engaged to me before he was introduced to Akane?"

"That maybe work," Shampoo nodded, "But Tendo-Saotome engagement older than when you engaged, so maybe Tendo-Sama insist he have better claim."

"Yeah, and besides that there's you to contend with," Ukyo sighed as she looked at her rival with a lopsided smile, "Unless we void your engagement, which you say you don't want, that just means that you and I wind up as rivals. I could live with that, maybe, just as long as one of us gets him in the end."

Shampoo gave Ukyo a funny glance, then stared off into space for a moment and said, "Maybe...maybe there is way. If Shampoo marry Ranma before he get to dojo, then when you meet him later on..."

"I'd just have my original grudge against him for abandoning me," Ukyo considered the point, "So maybe I won't fall in love with him as hard if I know there's already you in the picture. That could work, only...how do we do it?"

For the first time that whole night Shampoo honestly smiled, then she began to explain her plans, to which Ukyo nodded, and shortly thereafter they activated the Nanban mirror...

"C'mon, Pop! Get your butt in gear, she's gaining on us!"

Genma in Panda form just made an incoherent sound of acknowledgement while moving his legs as fast as a Panda could move upright. Ranma clung to his shoulders, her red hair whipping past her face as she glance over her shoulder and saw the angry girl who was pursuing them on foot.

"Man, doesn't she ever get tired?" Ranma exclaimed, "She's chased us over half of China already! You'd think by now she'd have gotten over it and stopped holding such a grudge about it! It's not like I'd ever be this upset if I'd lost to some dumb girl or nothing..."

The Panda attempted to voice his opinion on that, when all of a sudden a rope came up in his path and suddenly the bear's legs collided with it, spilling him forward.

"Hey!" Ranma cried as she found herself suddenly airborne, "What's the big idea, you clumsy or something?"

Behind them by fifty yards and closing Shampoo spied the panda bear taking a fall and saw her intended quarry suddenly vault into the air, somersaulting to a one-point landing, and she smiled with anticipation. The hunt was finally over, and soon she would have her retribution against this arrogant outsider female!

Oddly enough the idea did not thrill her as much as she would have imagined. It had been a good chase, the best hunt Shampoo had ever known, and to find it over at last was slightly disappointing. Nonetheless she prepared to make her final leap as she readied her sword, intending to slash down and finish her opponent in one swift blow, thereby redeeming her honor.

Ranma saw that Shampoo was closing on her and turned with the intent of fleeing once again when she saw something rushing at her head and instinctively blocked it, shattering the brass pot that had been about to collide with her. The contents, of course, were sprayed all over her, momentarily blinding her as Ranma shut her eyes and cried out in protest of the near-scalding he received.

He was so caught up with the pain that he almost failed to sense Shampoo's attack until she was upon him. Ranma moved instinctively, twisting to the side, only the sword thrust missed its mark by about half a meter. Ranma fell back in a fighting crouch and prepared to duck again as his foe turned and readied a slashing thrust.

Instead Shampoo stood where she was, looking at him in considerable confusion. She had been surprised that her cutting thrust had missed at all, but it was as if her arm chose to move too far to one side of its own volition, and now she was hesitating to make the follow through gesture. Her confusion was only doubled when she got a good look at her prey and realized that there was something very significant that was different about her.

This Ranma was suddenly much bigger than before, taller even than Shampoo, and her hair had turned jet black. In fact if it were not for the face and eyes being nearly the same she would have thought him a complete stranger...and then she looked down and her confusion became absolute.

"You...?" Shampoo tried to say in her best stumbling Japanese, a language she was only just beginning to master, "You no...girl?"

"Ah.." Ranma belatedly realized that he had changed once again and wondered how to explain this. He hoped the girl would mistake him for someone else and leave him alone, and sure enough she was looking from one side to the other as if seeking someone else, then she looked back at him with a very blank expression.

"I'm sorry...Miss?" Ranma tried lamely, "Are you looking for somebody?"

Shampoo dropped her sword, then very slowly took a step forward, extending one hand to place the flat of her palm against his chest, then she began to feel him over while Ranma endured this scrutiny with a nervous expression. Finally she voiced her conclusion, "You man?"

"Uh, yeah," Ranma said, "That's right, I'm a guy, always have been. So if you're looking for someone else..."

Shampoo frowned, "You no try trick Shampoo by hiding arrogant girl? You no magician who make girl disappear so you take place?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Ranma asked, and something in his expression, voice and mannerisms clinched the argument as far as Shampoo was concerned.

She felt her knees turn to icewater as she said the words, "Jusenkyo?"

"Oh, uh...you know about that?"

Shampoo wordlessly sank to her knees. It was the only explanation, but...she looked up at the boy, comprehension slowly dawning on her which part of the Amazon law now applied. She suddenly felt as if her whole world had been turned upside down, but at last she bowed to destiny and rose to her feet again. The boy just readied himself to either fight and flee and watched her with obvious hesitation.

Shampoo found herself smiling as she walked slowly up to him, reached out to cup his face, then drew him into a kiss as the boy reacted with astonishment. She broke the kiss and said softly, "Wo ai ni."

"Wo ai ni?" he said with no clear comprehension, but that did not matter at this point. The deed was done and suddenly Shampoo's heart felt a whole lot lighter in her chest. She smiled with radiant delight and added, "Woda Ailen," then kissed him again with such tenderness that the boy's pig tail stood on end and he sputtered out, "B-but I thought you didn't like me...?"

Two figures emerged from the concealment of the bushes, watching the trio return in the direction they first headed from, then Ukyo turned to her companion and said, "That worked like a charm."

"You had doubts?" Shampoo asked her.

"Well, as a matter of fact, yeah," Ukyo rubbed the back of her head with one hand, "It always seems like any time either one of us plans something it always seems to backfire against us in some way. So...how did you make your other self miss like that? I thought the other you was going to nail him for certain."

Shampoo simply shook her head, "I no kill him, even when I have chance. Took Shampoo time to realize that she no can kill an unarmed opponent. I very angry about losing match, but I no hate girl that much, so I pull blade at last second. It not first time it happen, but always Shampoo convince herself she slip or grow careless. Ranma not know he never in any real danger."

"You mean...all this time you've been threatening to kill people...and you really can't kill them?" Ukyo said in confusion.

"No kill in cold blood," Shampoo replied, "Maybe if they really bad I find reason to kill, but no kill girl who only crime is she beat Shampoo. Like I say before, I happy to chase girl as excuse to get away from village and elder. Now she going back to village to seek advise of elder and bring Ranma with her."

"Only he's going to try and talk himself out of the marriage," Ukyo sniffed, "What do you think is going to happen when he finds out he can't out-bargain Cologne?"

"I not know," Shampoo smiled, "That make it exciting. New timeline have possibilities never think of before. Maybe stick around and see what happen."

Ukyo smiled, "I'm with you there. Nothing left for us to do back in our own timeline, and I'm in no hurry to go back. What say we go forward a bit instead and find out what happens next?"

"I like that," Shampoo smiled, and together the girls laid hands on the Nanban mirror and concentrated...

One month later in Nerima a curious trio was seen walking the streets of the province, two girls and a giant panda, each bearing weighty backpacks.

"So," the smaller redhead of the trio said, "How much longer until we get to this friend's place? You said this guy used to train with you when you were younger?"

The panda just growled assent, looking sullen and miserable as if walking to a gallows.

"Haiya?" Shampoo turned her head to glance sideways at the crowd of people pointing at them, "Ailen, why people stare at us? No see Amazon girl before?"

"Might be your haircolor," Ranma smiled, "But it's more likely Pop whose drawing all the attention. Just ignore them unless they come from a zoo or something and they'd be willing to take him off our hands..." Ranma paused as the angry growls were aimed in his direction, "Relax, Pops, I'm just joking. If anybody does ask what we're doing, though, I'll just tell them we're with a traveling circus and leave it at that. Besides, it's not like it means anything with a bunch of total strangers."

The panda suddenly paused and turned his head, then made another growing noise and pointed with a paw. Ranma and Shampoo turned to see the sign that read, "Tendo Training Hall," with earned a wide smile as Ranma exclaimed, "All right! Now maybe we can find some food. I'm starving."

They entered the yard of a traditional-styled Japanese house and Ranma felt almost as though she were walking upon holy ground or something. The place had a feeling of grandeur and tradition and she instantly felt a liking for the place as she, her father and her wife walked up to the front door and rang the bell.

An instant later a very tall man and a cute brown-haired girl in a kimono answered the summons, took one look at the panda and made mute expressions of dismay before turning tail and retreating back inside the household.

Shampoo blinked her eyes then said, "Ailen...why Japanese people act so strange?"

"Beats me," Ranma shrugged, slipping off her backpack and removing her footwear, "Guess they're not used to meeting a pretty girl from China. I think we should wait here to reassure them that we're not going to attack them or anything and I..."

"Who the hell are you?" demanded an angry black-haired girl in a Karate gi who next appeared in the doorway, only to blink her eyes and stare in amazement, "A...panda?"

"Uh, hi," Ranma hailed, "Don't mind him, he's harmless. I'm Ranma Saotome, and this is Shampoo my...companion. I'm sorry to barge in you like this, but Pop said we could stop by on account of him being old friends with your father and all..."

"Wait a minute," the girl slowly turned to look her way, "You're Ranma Saotome? But..." her eyes drifted down, "I thought you were a guy!"

"Uh...yeah..." Ranma said sheepishly, "It's...kind of a long story. Look, can we come in? I'm starving, and Pop here needs a hot bath..."

"Pop?" the other girl said, "You're calling the panda your father?"

"Why hello," another voice said before Ranma could begin to form his reply, "You must be Ranma. Come on in, and who is your friend? Oh my...is that a Panda?"

Ranma smiled at the tall girl with the light brown hair done up in a pony tail that was nicely draped over one shoulder and then she elbowed the Panda and said, "Pop, behave yourself and don't embarrass up this time. It's been a long trip, can we trouble you for a bath? I know it's kind of sudden and all..."

"Not at all," the tall girl smiled, "I'm Kasumi Tendo, and this is my younger sister, Akane. And you are?" she directed the last question towards Shampoo, who bowed to her in reply and answered, "Shampoo Saotome."

"Saotome?" Akane replied, glancing from her to the redhead, "Is she your sister?"

"Not exactly," Ranma sighed, "I'll explain later..."

Two shadows detached themselves from the concealment of a tree, then one said to the other, "Glad we decided to stick around. This just keeps getting better and better."

"Hiyaa," the other girl replied, "Poor Ranma. You no think he going to like Akane anyway?"

"I don't know, Sugar," Ukyo smiled, "But it ought to be worth sticking around a while longer. Don't tell me you're tired of this little jaunt already?"

"No," Shampoo smiled, "Only getting to really good parts. This one fun adventure, and we no even get to where you come in yet."

"All part of the surprise," Ukyo replied, "I didn't actually get to watch things from this angle the first time they happened. It's a whole new experience for me."

"Me too," Shampoo agreed, "Just keep out of sight and we watch what happen."

"Count on it, Sugar," Ukyo grinned, "My ancestors were Ninja, remember? I'm sticking to the walls like flypaper. I wouldn't want to spoil the fun now that things are really starting to happen..."

"Jusenkyo?" Akane said, "You guys must be kidding!"

"I wish I was," said Ranma, turning to the bald headed man who had taken the place of the Panda, "Pop here thought it was a special training ground to work on our technique. Some training ground," she glanced down at herself in disgust.

"So," said the middle child, Nabiki, who was eyeing Ranma with clear disappointment, "What do you usually look like when you're not under a magic curse, Ranma?"

"Well..." Ranma started to say when Shampoo spoke up on her behalf.

"Airen very strong, very handsome boy, he much man, easily best man Shampoo ever meet," the Amazon said brightly as Ranma flushed crimson, "He cute in girl form, but you see him as real self you know he only man Shampoo call Ailen."

"You speak very fond of him," Kasumi said pleasantly, "You must love Ranma very much to follow him...I mean her all the way from China."

"Ayaa," Shampoo turned her reddish brown eyes towards Ranma and said, "Wo ai ni. Woda Ailen, where you go, Shampoo goes. Ailen now whole life to Shampoo. You enemies, Shampoo's enemies, you friends Shampoo call friends. Where you call home is home to Shampoo."

"Fascinating," said Soun, whose expression was fixed into a scowl, "But why can't Ranma change back into his real body like his father? Why is his curse different?"

"We were just coming to that part," replied Genma, "When Shampoo learned the truth about Ranma she insisted that we accompany her back to her village so that we could consult with the Elders and try to find a way to resolve this mess that was caused by the boy's carelessness..."

"Hey!" Ranma protested, "Who was it that ate her first prize alongside me anyway? If I hadn't fought her they would have kept you around as a stuffed pet to entertain their children with! Nobody told me about any dumb laws that says an outsider who beats an Amazon has to marry her..."

"Nonetheless," said Nabiki, "It happened...and now you're telling us that you're married to this lady?"

Ranma sighed, "By their laws...I'm afraid so. Doesn't even help that I'm not a guy anymore...the law even allows for same sex marriages, only in that case I gain Shampoo's status as the village Champion. That's why we came to Japan, to find a cure for this mess..."

"A mess that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't opened your big mouth and insulted that Musk Prince," Genma informed him.

"Well he had it coming!" Ranma snapped at her father, "He didn't have to douse me with the waters from that Chiisuiton pot of his! It froze me in this form so that even hot water can't turn me back into a guy! The reason we're here is because Shampoo's great grandmother, the Tribal Matriarch, said that there's this other artifact called the Kiifuiton which is supposed to unlock the curse so it works normally and I can turn back into a guy again. Otherwise..." her tone fell and a slightly depressed look crossed her features.

Very quietly Shampoo said, "We find Kiifuiton, Ranma, we restore you manhood. Shampoo no want you be unhappy. She help you become Ailen she gladly marry."

"Saotome," Soun turned an angry glare Genma's way, "How could you allow something like this to happen? What of our pledge to unite our families? Are you telling me that you went along with all this and freely went back on your word of honor?"

"What?" Ranma blinked, "What are you talking about? What promise? What word of honor?"

"Good grief," Akane snorted, "Don't tell me he never told you about that stupid promise our fathers made when we were just children?"

"Promise?" Ranma turned an angry glare her father's way, "Pop...what have you gotten me into this time? Don't tell me it involves food again? Why I ought to..."

"Then you don't know," Nabiki remarked, "Your father agreed with our father to marry one of us to you when we came of age. According to our Dad one of us is supposed to become your iinazuke."

"WHAT?!" Ranma was shocked upright by that statement, "Marry one of you? But...what...?"

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "I guess that won't be possible now since you already have a wife and she seems to agree with you so nicely..."

"Out of the question!" Soun said, "I forbid it! You cannot go back on your word like this, Saotome! Not without giving me satisfaction!"

"But...Tendo-kun," Genma said, "I was coming here to try and work something out with you. I know the boy got himself into this mess, but I'm sure we can find a way to work things out so that everybody can be happy..."

"What?" Ranma was on her feet at last, "Work something out? Are you telling me you think I should just give Shampoo the heave-ho? Weren't you listening back at that village when the Elder explained to us what would happen to Shampoo if we disgraced her and I didn't agree to be her husband? How dare you tell me now to just ignore her!"

"Son," Genma replied, "It isn't like that..."

"Oh no?" Ranma scoffed, "What about all your fancy big words when you told me to pay her more attention and treat her right? Well I did, and you know something? Shampoo's the best friend I've ever had, as good a companion as I could ever ask for, and she cooks up a storm if you let her, which is a lot better than the slop you make when it's your turn to do the cooking!"

"Ranma," Shampoo said.

"I'm not leaving her, you got that?" Ranma demanded hotly, "I may not have asked for this, but now that we're stuck with each other, there is absolutely no way that I'm going to turn my back on Shampoo, so get those stupid ideas out of your head right now and..."

"Ranma," Shampoo smiled, this time getting her attention, "It all right. Shampoo knows you love her, she make you good wife, and no way stupid panda-man change her mind about Ailen."

"Shampoo," Ranma said softly, turning back to look at the Amazon, who stood up and approached her with a smile, then leaned over and kissed her on the mouth, saying, "Wo ai ni. Shampoo bound to you for life. We find Kiifuiton and get you manhood back, then we live happy as husband and wife. You no regret you stand by Shampoo, Ailen."

"Ah...ah..." Ranma stood there stunned as Nabiki eyed her slyly and said, "How sweet. Looks like you've got yourself a real prize there, Saotome."

"My, they do make a very cute couple," Kasumi said with a pleasant expression.

"I-I don't believe it," Akane murmured faintly with her own expression stunned to incredulity, "She kissed him...and they're both girls..."

"What's the matter, Sis?" Nabiki smiled, "Are you jealous."

"What-jealous?" Akane sputtered, "Of him?"

"Bet you'd like to get away with kissing another girl like that," Nabiki said smugly, "After all, you're always saying you hate boys, so maybe another girl's what you're after..."

"Y-You take that back!" Akane rose to her knees shaking in outrage as Nabiki just returned her look with a lazy, unaffected expression.

"Hey, what's with the attitude?" Ranma asked as she recovered her wits, "Are you some kind of uncute tomboy or something?"

"What?" this time Akane rose to her feet, "What did you say? I can't believe you just called me that!"

"What? Uncute Tomboy?" Ranma smiled, then suddenly she darted out of the way as Akane threw a savage kick in her direction, "Hey, what are you getting mad a me for? You really are uncute!"

Akane was about to press her attack when Shampoo was suddenly between them, and before Akane could pull her swing the Amazon thrust two fingers forward and all at once Akane went flying backwards to land on the floor in a heap. She sputtered and looked up from her prone position to see Shampoo eyeing her with a cross expression.

"You no pick fight with Ailen," Shampoo said simply, "Fight Shampoo first if you want fight with Ailen."

"Girls," Nabiki suavely rose to her feet and said, "No fighting inside the house. You want to settle this with fists, we have a dojo for just that purpose."

"Fine with me!" Akane said as she rose to her feet, rubbing her chest where the Amazon had touched her, "You just got lucky with that maneuver. Try that again and I'll cream you!"

"I wouldn't be that quick to boast if I were you," Ranma said, "Shampoo's a heck of a lot better at this stuff than anybody I've ever had to go up against, except maybe that Musk Princess, and she fights to win. You can get hurt if you push her buttons the wrong way."

"We'll see about that," Akane said in a huff, and a few moments later the family was gathered about the inside of the Tendo dojo.

Ranma looked around, feeling the age and reverence of the place as she said, "Quite a set up you've got here, Mister Tendo. This has been in the family for a few generations?"

"Yes," Soun replied, his eyes focused upon his little girl, who was facing off with Shampoo, who seemed incredibly calm and poised in spite of the angry glare in the Akane's expression.

"You both know the rules?" Nabiki asked, "Three falls, no holds blocked, and the first one who concedes loses the match. Agreed?" Both girls nodded compliance.

"Shampoo," Ranma said, "Try not to hurt her too bad, all right? This is just a friendly match, and we're guests for the night. Besides, it's not her fault she's such an uncute Tomboy."

"OOOOHHHH!" Akane snarled, "You're next, you Pervert! Once I deal with your girlfriend I'm teaching you to watch who you call a Tomboy!"

"Pervert?" Ranma straightened out, "Hey, where do you get off calling me that? It's not my fault I'm a guy trapped in a girl's body!"

"Enough, you two," Genma said, turning to the prospective combatants, "Begin."

The fight was over in less than twenty seconds. Akane came at the Amazon in a rush and Shampoo vaulted over her head, then tapped her on the back as she landed behind her. Akane whirled and launched an all-out assault with feet and fists flying with the speed of striking cobras. She might as well have been standing still for all the good her movements did her as Shampoo toyed with her for the first few blows then launched her own counter assault that ended with Akane landing in a heap at the far end of the dojo, only barely conscious.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "I hope Akane will be all right."

"She'll live," Ranma sounded almost bored as she sat with arms folded over her chest, "Shampoo was taking it real easy on her on account of her being such a slowpoke."

"Sounds like you're talking from experience," Nabiki eyed the redhead coyly, filing away the information about Ranma's calling her sister a "slowpoke" for future reference.

"My little girl!" Soun wailed as he went to check on his daughter's condition, Kasumi moving to help him.

Ranma stood up and said, "You feel warmed enough for some sparring, Shampoo? I've been feeling a little tense for the last hour and I could use the workout."

Shampoo's expression became one of delight, then shifted to a smile of pure calculation, "I be happy give you workout, Ailen. Slowpoke girl barely give Shampoo chance to stretch. We show her how we fight, maybe she learn something."

"Why you...!" Akane started to protest when she thought better of sitting up too quickly, "Just give me another few minutes to catch my breath..."

"Take your time," Ranma said as she and Shampoo squared off, saluted each other, then went into an all-out melee with bodies moving like a blur, kicking up a wind with their furious exchanges of kicks and punches from one end of the dojo to the other.

"Wow," Nabiki tried and failed to sound unimpressed, "They are good..."

"Ranma's the best I've ever trained," Genma replied, "And that Amazon always gives him a good workout. The two do make a pretty formidable team...it's just a shame about those laws of hers. If she wasn't engaged to my son I'd be tempted to adopt her."

"Engaged?" Nabiki eyed the man with a slight frown, "Sounds to me more like they're already married."

"Fortunately they've never consummated the marriage," Genma replied with arms folded over his chest, "I happen to know because I've been watching them like a hawk and have yet to witness a single moment when they could have been intimate together."

"Indeed?" Soun brightened, "Then there's hope after all! So long as the marriage isn't consummated, our pledge to marry our children can still become a reality..."

"What?" even Akane sounded shocked by that, "You've got to be kidding!"

"You'd ignore their wishes and insist on going ahead with this farce?" Nabiki voiced her disapproval.

"Father, how could you even think of such a thing?" Kasumi asked, "Can't you see how happy they are together?"

Said happy couple were presently locked in a life-and-death struggle for supremacy with Shampoo currently having the edge due to Ranma's reluctance to hit back at the other girl. She did manage to break the hold Shampoo had placed around her and got the leverage she needed to flip the Amazon over. Shampoo caught herself with one hand and flipped back to her feet as the two came at each other again in an all-out onslaught that would have been more appropriate on a pair of snarling wildcats. Yet somehow, in spite of it all, they did indeed seem happy.

"A cute couple indeed," Nabiki smiled as she began to wonder if there were some way that she could make a profit out of this new situation.

"Hmmmph," Akane tried to sound unimpressed and failed even more spectacularly than her sister.

"I hope they don't tire themselves out too much," Kasumi remarked, "They must have had a rough day, what with all that traveling from China."

"I'll admit it is a problem," Genma remarked to his old friend in a low, conspiratorial whisper, "Those two get along so well, I'd hate to come between them."

"The honor of both our families are at stake, Saotome," Soun replied, "We will simply have to think of a way to make everything right for both parties..."

"Can you believe those two?" Ukyo remarked from their place of concealment.

"Some things never change," Shampoo agreed with a tone of casual understatement.

"Well, at least things seem to be working out for you on this timeline," Ukyo remarked, "Ranma even seems to have accepted you as his wife, though the same-  
sex thing seems to make him pretty nervous."

"I hope other self find way to overcome that," Shampoo smiled, then eyed Ukyo to one side, "We still not know how this affect you..."

"One thing at a time, Sugar," Ukyo said, then she began to chuckle, "Have to admit, though, it was a gas watching your other self pound the tar out of Akane."

"That very satisfying," Shampoo said smugly, "Wanted to do that from first time we meet, never had opportunity after Xi Fang Giao incident."

"I gotta admit that hanging around in this timeline certainly has a lot of entertainment value," Ukyo observed, "Only what do you suppose those two jerks are up to? You don't think they're actually going to insist that one of Soun's daughter marries Ranma-honey?"

"Like to see them try," Shampoo sniffed, "Akane no look willing to go along, and sneaky-girl Nabiki too clever to be tricked into match. Nice girl Kasumi do what father says, but she know how to avoid being made to do thing she no want do. Besides, she want nice doctor Tofu."

"Only she doesn't know that Tofu wants her as well," Ukyo noted, "Let's watch some more and see what they come up with. They'd better not try and force Ranma-Honey to marry that tomboy..."

"Agree," Shampoo smiled and said, "But who you call Tomboy?"

"MMmm," Ukyo fumed a bit over that then sighed, "All right, point taken."

"You know," Shampoo purred, "Never say this before, but you cute girl. Why you always dress like man?"

"Force of habit, Sugar," Ukyo sighed, "Never did feel all that comfortable in dresses."

"Shampoo see," Shampoo said with a sly arch to her tone, "Thought maybe it because you really cute guy in disguise and this you excuse to make ladies drop guard around you."

"What?" Ukyo was outraged, "You take that back and..."

"Shhh!" Shampoo urged, "No let anyone know we here, right? Besides, things getting good again. Other Shampoo and Ranma share bath together. Is good Japanese custom."

"You just think that because you'd like to get him in the tub that way on a voluntary basis," Ukyo snorted when she took notice of something else, "Hey, isn't Akane headed towards the same bath? You don't think...?"

There was a sharp exchange of shouts, a brief scream, then Ranma's voice arched with an angry, "Hey, is it too much to ask for a little privacy in here?"

Shampoo sighed, "Some thing's inevitable."

"The more things change," Ukyo sighed, sitting back to get a more comfortable perch in the tree as they listened in on the fireworks taking place inside the walls of the Tendo household...

Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Temporal Interdimensional Hyperdynamics: shadowmane

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	2. Chapter 2

Amazon Way2

The Amazon Way

By Jim R. Bader

(Based on the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others)

Chapter Two.

Shampoo looked up from her vigil to see Ukyo entering through the door carrying supplies in grocery bags. She smiled as she acknowledged her partner in mischief then returned to her study of the Tendo dojo, listening with one ear that held a microphone receiving plug of the kind normally used in espionage cases.

"Any change?" Ukyo asked as she started to put things away in the kitchen.

"Not yet," Shampoo murmured softly, "But picking up bits of conversation...Shampoo think fathers still plan try to separate Shampoo from Airen."

"Not if we can help it, Sugar," Ukyo softly chuckled, "Good thing Ranma told me about this house across the street that was unoccupied when he first got to Nerima. The owners aren't supposed to be back for a month, and it makes a good crash pad."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo murmured softly, "Just so nobody come investigate us living here we keep tabs on younger self and see if Ranma remain true to his Shampoo."

"You heard him before, Kitty-cat," Ukyo smiled, "He's already head over heals in love with you, I can tell, believe me."

The slightly wistful tone in the Okonomiyaki chef's voice caused Shampoo to glance up at her unlikely partner to catch the unguarded look of sadness in her expression. Recalling why the two of them had chosen to pool their talents to this venture, she said, "You help Shampoo make life where she find happiness with Ranma, but you no ask make happy for yourself. When we go make timeline where you find happiness, Ukyo?"

Ukyo was surprised to hear the note of honest sympathy in her longtime rival's voice, so she smiled at her and said, "Soon enough, just after we make sure this timeline works out the way you want it. There's still a younger version of me running around somewhere looking for revenge on the boy and Panda who left her by the side of the road, and I'm working on an angle to help things there. Trust me, Sugar...I got all the surveillance equipment like I said I would, didn't I? So trust me to smooth things over so you can have the sort of happy ending you've always wanted."

"And then we do same for you," Shampoo said thoughtfully, "Only how work it so Shampoo have excuse to leave village but no be engaged to Ranma? Is very confusing."

"Tell me about it," Ukyo settled down beside her and passed the Amazon an apple, "It's all just a matter of time, though, and we've got time to spare, just so long as those two clowns, Soun and Genma, don't mess things up too bad..."

Ranma woke up with a groan, feeling a splitting headache coming on as she found herself laying upon a tamati mat in the middle of a strange room with barren walls and with several people looking down with concern in their expressions.

"You okay, Ailen?" Shampoo asked, the first to speak, as was natural and proper.

"That depends," Ranma winced as she felt her skull with gentle fingers, "What hit me...?"

"The tea table," Kasumi said matter-of-factly, "Akane used it on you after you made that comment about her body."

"Yeah," Nabiki sniffed, "It wasn't the most tactful thing to say, Saotome, telling her you have the better body."

"Well, it's true," Ranma said, then groaned again, "Uncute Tomboy..."

"Please understand," Kasumi said delicately, "Akane is really a very sweet girl...she just has these incredibly violent impulses."

"Oh right, Kasumi," Nabiki said sarcastically, "Like that just explains everything."

"You sister such a violent girl," Shampoo said with clear disapproval, "She no touch Ranma like that again or Shampoo show her meaning of violence."

"I wouldn't be too hard on her, Shampoo-chan," Ranma said as she sat up slowly, feeling the room swim, "It's not her fault if she's such a macho chick who can't take a little criticism."

"Just the same," Nabiki said, "It might help if you stay out of her way and don't give her any more reasons to clobber you. You may be a great martial artist but when Akane gets a mad on it's all Kasumi and I can do to try and calm her."

"By the way," Kasumi smiled as she changed the subject, "This is to be your new room, Ranma. You and Shampoo can sleep here together while we make separate accommodations for Mister Saotome."

"Thanks, but don't bother to put yourself out on our account," Ranma replied, "We're only staying until we can find some clues that will lead us to that Kiifuiton thingie so I can restore my manhood."

"That's if you can find it," Nabiki cautioned, "Shampoo here seems to think the thing's been lost for a couple of centuries. A thing like that tends to stay hidden a long time. We need some leads, something to go on that can give us a clue to where it's at, and that means doing lots of research and some heavy legwork."

Ranma turned a questioning look her way and said, "You're offering to help?"

Nabiki smiled, "Not for free, of course. My time is valuable, and you'll have to find a way to make it up to me, but I think we could work something out. After all, information is my livelihood, and since Daddy doesn't run the Dojo like he used to, and the family doesn't have a stable source of income..."

"I see," Ranma nodded, then smiled, "So you need money, huh? I can't help you there myself, but Shampoo's great grandmother might be able to help you. As tribal Matriarch she controls the assets of her entire village..."

"Oh, I'm sure she's got a hidden stash somewhere," Nabiki rolled her eyes, imaging a dirt-poor Chinese settlement that could barely sustain itself between one harvest and the next, "But I was thinking something more along the line of a few favors...nothing illegal, of course, and you could call them markers..."

"Fine," Ranma pivoted about and rocked on the balls of his feet as he regarded the shorthaired mercenary with an amiable smile, "Whatever it takes just so long as I get to be a guy again. I'll even help out in any way I can, and Shampoo here's got a lot of talents besides cooking and fighting. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping."

"Shampoo always glad to help, Ailen," Shampoo smiled brightly, turning to Kasumi, "You just say whatever you need, Shampoo do what she can to be helpful."

"How nice of you," Kasumi said brightly, "But you don't have to trouble yourself. You're our guests and it wouldn't be proper to make you work to earn your keep."

"Oh, let them help out anyway they like, Oneechan," Nabiki smiled, "Which brings up the next question, Ranma. Aside from martial arts, whatever are you good at?"

"Not a whole lot," Ranma admitted, "The art's about the only thing I've trained for. I can cook and sew a little, but Shampoo's loads better than me at that, and before you ask if I can do any of that girl stuff, forget it! I'm a guy and it's guy stuff I'm good at."

"I see," Nabiki mused, "Well, at least you admit it, which is one you've got over Akane."

"Nabiki," Kasumi chided, "That wasn't very nice."

"Hey, I'm just being honest," Nabiki gave her sister a cute smile, "We both know Akane's totally helpless at anything domestic, you just won't face up to that fact like me, Sis."

"Huh, that figures," Ranma sniffed, "A Macho uncute chick like her's probably a whole lot less feminine even than me."

"What did you call me?" stormed a voice from the hallway.

"Uh oh," said Ranma, her expression suddenly very worried...

"We must do something, Saotome," Soun said to his friend as the played a game of Shogi, "For the sake of our pledge to unite our families..."

"I know, Tendo-kun," Genma replied, "And I'm still working on how to deal with this situation. Shampoo is a lovely girl, and clearly she's devoted to my son, but unless you are willing to adopt her as a Tendo..."

"I take it you meant that to be a jest, Saotome?" Soun glared at his friend in an unamused manner.

"All right then," Genma sighed, "Then if we suppose that we do find a way to separate them, who then should Ranma marry?"

"Obviously it will be after he regains his manhood," Soun replied, "In which case it should either be Kasumi or Nabiki. Somehow I don't think a relationship with Akane would be too likely..."

As if on cue they heard a scream of, "YOU PERVERT!" followed by the subsequent smashing of several items of furniture with a bit of minor structural damage on the side. The mayhem was punctuated by the forcible ejection of a certain redhead out the second story window.

"I see what you mean," Genma confessed as they watched Ranma arc unerringly into the koi pond, "Of course they would make a very cute couple..."

"Please, Saotome," Soun sighed, "Let us stay focused on the practicality of engaging your son to one of my daughters who is not likely to kill him. So...which will it be, Kasumi or Nabiki?"

"Well, obviously I don't know them as well as you do, Tendo," Genma replied, "But from what I've seen Kasumi is a very nice girl who would make an excellent wife, while Nabiki has a great deal of charm, wit and intelligence about her, and my boy does need someone with a good head on their shoulders to keep him in line."

"Exactly how I see things, Saotome," Soun nodded, not realizing at first that a piece was missing from the board, "Kasumi is dear to me and has kept the house in order since the loss of her dear mother, while as far as I know Nabiki doesn't have a boyfriend, so either one of them is a logical choice since your son will inherit the dojo."

"And then the two of us can look forward to a long and happy retirement, eh, Tendo-kun?" smiled.

"Indeed," Soun replied, "Secure in the knowledge that the Anything Goes school will live on through our children. To that end let us dedicate ourselves to finding a way around this Shampoo problem."

"And once we find the Kiifuiton my boy will marry your daughter and live happily ever after," Genma said with a thoughtful expression, "Maybe we should wait for that to happen before we act. After all, Shampoo may be the key to finding the magic pot that can cure Ranma's affliction."

"It may be too late by then," Soun's expression hardened, "The more time the boy spends with that Amazon the harder it may be to separate them later. And let's not forget that once he's regained his manhood he may very well consummate their marriage."

"Yes, I suppose I could hardly blame him for that," Genma nodded, "The girl has charm and beauty, and she seems very willing."

"So you can see my point here," Soun made his move then waited to see how long it would be before his friend noticed an extra piece was missing, "We cannot delay bringing an end to this Amazon marriage."

"Agreed," Genma replied, then he blinked his eyes to be certain that he saw correctly. With a sudden gesture he cried, "What's that over there?"

"Eh?" Soun asked, turning to look as Genma switched pieces...unaware that someone other than his friend was watching them through the business end of a telescopic lens.

"Can you believe those two?" Ukyo said in clear disgust, "All they ever do is sit around and cheat each other."

"Shampoo think that their idea of happiness," Shampoo said as she adjusted her balance to give Ukyo a better purchase on her shoulders, "What younger self doing at moment?"

"Coming out to check to see if Ranma-honey is all right," Ukyo folded up her spyglass then sighed, "Which is more than those two lazy lunks would do. Honestly, you'd think they could for once put somebody else's welfare ahead of themselves for a whole minute."

"Shampoo think world come to end if they do that," Shampoo grunted, then sighed as Ukyo vaulted down off her shoulders and started to lead the way back to the house that was their temporary base of operations.

"We can't let them get away with screwing up our plans," Ukyo growled, "We've got to find a way to jinx whatever plans they make and see to it that Ranchan finds the Kiifuiton and gets himself back to normal."

"Then Shampoo and Ranma be together forever," Shampoo gained a dreamy expression, "We have lots of babies and we be so happy..."

"One thing at a time, Sugar," Ukyo smiled, "The problem is we can't be too obvious about what we do here. We're not technically a part of this timeline, so just going in there and whacking those two on the head won't solve our problems. We've got to be subtle about this, which means we work through third parties."

"You mean like Sneaky mercenary girl who always take advantage of Airen?" Shampoo asked.

"Nope," Ukyo replied, "Nabiki's many things, but she's not a fool. We bring her in on this and we'll both wind up paying through the nose, especially the way she'd try to milk us for insider information about the Tokyo stock exchange and stuff like that."

"Then who we use?" Shampoo asked, "Nice Kasumi no good at being sneaky..."

"No," Ukyo smiled, "Not Kasumi, I've got somebody better in mind. It's perfect."

"What you say?" Shampoo asked her.

"Never mind, Sugar," Ukyo chuckled, "Just leave it all to me and you'll see what I have in mind here. I guarantee this one will knock your socks off..."

"School?" Ranma reacted, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"You heard me, Boy," Genma said adamantly, "You're going to attend classes with Akane and Nabiki, and that should give you more time to decide which one will be your fianc e."

Ranma glowered, then aimed a well-placed kick that landed her father into the Koi pond.

"I ain't telling you this again, Old Man!" Ranma growled at the panda who emerged in the place of the Saotome elder, "I ain't abandoning Shampoo, and you ain't telling me who I'm gonna marry!"

"Aiyaa," Shampoo herself remarked as she appeared from the kitchen, where she had been helping Kasumi with the dishes, "Is Pop still on this, Airen? Shampoo think maybe him better off at Zoo, dating other panda."

"The idea is tempting, believe me," Ranma growled acidly under her breath.

"Aren't you two ready for school yet?" asked Nabiki as she emerged out onto the porch, complete with her book bag.

"I ain't going to no school," Ranma folded her arms over her ample chest, "We only stayed the night with you guys because the Old Man tricked us, but now we have to resume our search for that stupid bucket that'll unlock my curse and help me become a guy again."

"Whatever," Akane said as she passed them by, "C'mon, Nabiki, we'll be late for class."

"Late for your legion of doting admirers, you mean," Nabiki responded with a sly expression, ignoring the pained look that crossed her sister's features.

"Oh please," Akane rolled her eyes, "Like I want those idiots to fight with me every morning?"

"Fight?" Ranma asked with an arched eyebrow, showing the least flickering of interest.

"It's just a morning ritual that Akane goes through," Nabiki replied with a wink of her eye, "Pay it no mind."

"Yeah, like that will work," Akane grumbled as she headed out into the yard towards the gates.

Soun emerged from the house, taking a more cautious approach than the one adopted by Genma, "Maybe you should go and take a look for yourself, Son. My little girl is very skilled, but at times I worry for her, not having a boyfriend to look after her, and so many young suitors crying for her attention."

"You think maybe she doesn't like guys?" Ranma asked Shampoo, who shrugged prettily.

"Is always possible," Shampoo replied neutrally, only to react in shock as the Tendo elder suddenly displayed both a temper and a backbone.

"DON'T EVEN SUGGEST SUCH A THING ABOUT MY LITTLE GIRL!" he declared, his face seeming to project a massive Demon-Head that was the epitome of all outraged fathers. It took him less than a few seconds to regain his calm and composure as he handed a bookbag to Ranma, "I mean, you misunderstand her...my Akane is a very sweet young girl and needs to have someone who will look after her. I ask, as her father, that you at least accompany her to her school this one time and determine for yourself if she needs your protection."

"Well..." Ranma glanced at the bookbag in his hands, then at Shampoo and shrugged, "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a look."

"Then here you are, Ranma," announced Kasumi as she entered the room, holding a pair of Bento boxes, which she handed to both Shampoo and Ranma, "I've already made your lunches, so have fun."

Ranma blinked then exchanged looks with Shampoo, who smiled in return and said, "Shampoo go with Airen, see what Japanese school is like. Maybe is no so different from Amazon village if students good fighters."

"Could be," Ranma said, then sighed, "We'd better get going if we're gonna catch up with those two. They know the way to their school and we sure don't..."

As the two young girls took their leave of the back porch, Genma sidled up alongside his friend and the two of them watched with mutual expressions of deep concern that were oddly similar in spite of the difference in their current species.

"Those two are very close to one another, aren't they?" Soun asked with particular emphasis, to which the Saotome elder could only nod and hold up a sign reading, "We have to do something about that..."

"Those two idiots are still at it," Ukyo sighed in exasperation.

"Aiyaa," Shampoo agreed, "If anyone but those two, Shampoo actually be worried."

"C'mon, let's follow the gang on their way to Furinkan," Ukyo remarked as she dropped from the high tree branch where she had been perching, while Shampoo followed suite with great ease.

"You think fathers try something on way?" Shampoo asked as they began racing along the rooftops, keeping their distance from Ranma and the others.

"Not immediately," Ukyo replied, "Anything they do would need planning, something the two of them are notoriously short on providing. I just want to see what happens when your younger self and Ranma reach the High School. I've heard stories about this first meeting, and you know what happens when they get there?"

"Aiyaa!" Shampoo exclaimed, "Stupid stick boy, Kuno?"

"You got it, Sugar," Ukyo agreed as the two of them increased their paces...

"You there!" the tall boy pointed his bokken towards Ranma and Shampoo, "What visions of loveliness are manifested before these humbled eyes?"

"Who, us?" Ranma asked as she turned a glance back at Akane, "Friend of yours?"

"Butt out of this," Akane said tensely, adopting a fighting posture as she faced against the newly arrived Kendo artist, "Kuno's my business..."

"Sure, no problem for me," Ranma responded with indifference, turning to regard the handsome boy, instinctively disliking the arrogance that he saw in his expression, "Just seems like you've got a lot of admirers for a Tomboy."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo agreed, surveying the litter of bodies that decorated the school grounds, "Is almost like being back in China, except boys no follow proper rules for challenging womans fighter."

"I asked a question," the boy said with a faint hint of annoyance, "Can it be that you are struck speechless by my very presence? No matter, proper courtesy demands that I be the one who first gives introduction. My name strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies, my very being unmans the stoutest warriors in all Japan. They call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School!"

He raised his wooden sword for emphasis, and thunder rolled off the hills as a bolt of lighting was seen in the background.

"Kuno Tatewaki," the boy resumed in the rumble that followed this meteorological display, "Age seventeen."

"Whoah," Ranma commented, "Nice effect."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo agreed in mutual disbelief, "Is boy really best in Japan?"

"He thinks he is," Akane replied, "But he's just a blowhard."

"Did he just call himself Blue Thunder?" one of Nabiki's friends asked from where they stood perched on the third story railing.

"I thought he was calling himself Shooting Star," responded another of Nabiki's confederates.

"Whatever," Nabiki responded with indifference, leaning over the rail with an intense curiosity in her expression, wanting to see what would happen next when the duo of Shampoo and Ranma actually got to know the real Kuno.

Though she preferred to give little evidence of it, in fact she was more than a little intrigued with the possibilities opened up by the arrival of these two in Nerima, not least for which was their obvious superiority to Akane in the martial arts, and the inevitable effect a pair of beauties such as them would have on the male population of their campus. Just seeing the two of them walk along the fence on the way to class was enough to suggest all sorts of interesting things to her fertile imagination...

"Whatever," Ranma shrugged in response to Kuno's challenge, uncannily mimicking the older Tendo girl, "If your beef's with Akane, then don't let me and Shampoo stop you."

"I told you I could handle it," Akane said as she resumed her fighting crouch, "Kuno, if you want to challenge me then I'm ready to meet you."

"Nay, be not in haste, Tendo Akane," the tall boy replied, "Allow me but a moment to bask in the warming glow of your beauteous companions. Such a sight to behold...three such visions of loveliness that mortal eyes have but rarely witnessed."

"Hey, leave us out of this, guy," Ranma frowned, not liking the way that the overly melodramatic guy was looking at her...and ESPECIALLY the way he included Shampoo in his sweeping gaze of interest.

"My, but I sense a feisty spirit in the pig-tailed one," the tall boy said with approval, "You say that your companion is named Shampoo...but what name are you given?"

"Ranma," the redheaded girl replied, "Saotome Ranma."

"Saotome Ranma," Tatewaki pronounced with great delight, "A name as elegant and refined as any noble house of Samurai. A wild Mare of the Rice Plucking Women, indeed...how curiously well-suiting of such a fiery apparition. Mayhaps once I have won the hand of the beauteous Akane, mayhap you would care to do me the honor of dating me..."

"Huh?" Ranma, Shampoo and Akane reacted in chorus, the Amazon wondering if her shaky grasp of Japanese were more faulty than even she had reckoned.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Akane blurted out, "Even for you that's twisted, Kuno!"

"Shampoo agree," Shampoo sniffed, "Boy talk big, but Shampoo no think him good enough for Amazon date, and no good enough to defeat Ailen."

"Oh, I would not think to neglect such a rare and exotic flower of womanhood as yourself, gentle maiden," Kuno informed them, "Only the basest of cads would leave an obviously foreign born guest of your quality without a manly escort. I would be negligent in my duties as the heir to a noble house to permit you to walk around without my manly protection."

This time Shampoo was convinced that she did understand every word that the buffoon was uttering to her, even in spite of the barrier of language that left some words beyond translation. It was a speech that could have been delivered by someone else of notoriety with her, leaving her to wonder if that boy and this one might somehow be closely related.

But before she could give vent to her annoyance at the boy for his impertinence, Ranma took a step forward, and she could literally feel the anger radiating from her Airen as Ranma assumed a stance of challenge and said, "Don't even think it, Buster. You leave me and Shampoo out of your sick fantasies or you're gonna get hurt!"

"Ranma?" Akane asked, wondering what her new friend was going to do in response to Kuno and his perversities, "I told you to butt out! He's my problem, don't get involved here."

"Not a chance," Ranma said, "This guy's history! Nobody talks that way about me, and especially not Shampoo! Kuno...prepare to get pounded!"

"Very well," Kuno raised his bokken, "I accept your challenge. If you defeat me you may date with me...however, you should know that I am prepared to lose."

The would-be Samurai took a step forward and made a mighty downward slash, which same utterly missed his opponent. Kuno blinked his eyes and suddenly found the redheaded girl perched on the end of his bokken, taking a step forward as she cried, "Who's want to date with you anyway?!"

The next thing Kuno knew was that his vision was obscured by her foot, and then all he saw after that were stars, pinwheels and planets...

"Well, that was Anti-climatic," Ukyo remarked from where she and Shampoo were perched atop of the school building, "I always knew that Kuno guy was a creep, but looks like he's consistent no matter what other changes we make in the timeline. Good luck he's no real threat to our plans, eh?"

Shampoo nodded her head in agreement, a happy thought occurring to her as she smiled and added, "See how Ranma defend Shampoo honor? Is very angry he see pervert wood-stick boy put moves on Shampoo."

"Looks like he's got it bad for you all right," Ukyo agreed, "Too bad he's the wrong sex at the moment to do anything about it..."

"That what you say, Spatula girl," Shampoo smirked, "Shampoo no think that very big problem, if Ranma is willing."

"Huh?" Ukyo blinked, then unexpectedly blushed at the suggestive smile the Amazon was wearing, and decided she did not want a full elaboration to that comment, "Eh...whatever..."

"Is good that Shampoo is getting along with Ranma," Shampoo turned to her companion with a more serious expression, "But what of Ukyo? You no get anything out of seeing Shampoo make nice-nice with Ranma?"

"Ah, not to worry on that count, Sugar," Ukyo smiled lopsidedly, "In fact I was just going to go see someone on that score who can take care of that particular angle. Think you can hold the fort here for a while and see to it those two Oafish fools don't try to screw things up in the meantime?"

"Ah-huh," Shampoo readily acknowledged, "But who you go see to help out?"

"My younger self, of course," Ukyo replied as she turned away with a smirk, "Who else did you think, Sugar?"

Ukyo could almost hear Shampoo's blink, and then she did hear the anticipated response, "But...won't Spatula Girl...I mean, Ukyo of this time recognize self from future?"

Ukyo was impressed, Shampoo had actually use a personal pronoun on herself. She was finally learning. In response she held up a small envelope-sized package in one hand and said, "Not to worry, I 'borrowed' a few of these from your Great Grandmother. She seemed to think they might come in handy."

Shampoo recognized the label on that distinctive package, "Instant Nanniichuan? Spatula girl...want be boy for real?"

"Hey, it's only temporary," Ukyo replied with some embarrassment at the suggestion, "I doubt anybody will recognize me if I really am a boy instead of just pretending to look like one...and it's only until I convince my other self not to be a problem for later."

As Ukyo started to turn away she felt the Amazon's eyes following her, but thankfully was too far away to hear Shampoo's soft murmur, "Oh so? Shampoo wonder..."

Meanwhile down below a triumphant Ranma turned her gaze up towards the roof of the building, wondering why her instincts had drawn her attention there since there was no one in evidence. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to dismiss the thought for now, and besides...it was only a feeling. Now that he and Shampoo had seen the Tendo girls off to class she had more pressing matters to concern herself with, such as finding that magical Bucket that could restore her to boy status...

The bell on the door to the Kuonji Okonomiyaki shop chimed as it was slid to one side, prompting the youth behind the counter to turn around with a casual glance, expecting to see a lone customer during one of the off-hours of the day, when business was slow and her Aunt's Restaurant was more than a little boring. She actually was welcoming the idea of serving up a customer while her Aunt was away taking care of other business. It would be her chance to demonstrate once and for all that she could run her own restaurant, as her father had promised she could do when she turned sixteen and moved to the outskirts of the Tokyo region.

Much to her surprise, though, there was no one standing in the doorway, but as she was just starting to react to this a figure appeared by the counter with such suddenness that he might as well have been invisible to her eyes until that very instant.

"Ah," Ukyo took the fellow in at a glance...very tall and incredible handsome looking in a brown leather vest wearing mirrored sunshades that blocked her attempt at eye contact. His hair was the same color as her own, and pulled back in much the same style to form a pony tail down his broad-shouldered back, but other than this he was a complete stranger to her vision. In an attempt to cover for her brief surprise at his sudden appearance, she asked in as level a voice as she could manage, "Uh...can I help you, Mister...?"

The man inclined his head forward in the barest of polite nods before replying in a softly roughened voice, "You are Kuonji Ukyo, are you not?"

"Yeah?" she was instantly on her guard, measuring the amount of time it would take for her to unsling the battle spatula that her Aunt had given her, which was hidden behind the counter, "What of it?"

"The name's Kuonji Toshiro," the young man replied in that same roughened voice, "I was told that I could find you here in your Aunt's place."

Ukyo's eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you from the clan? Who sent you?"

"Unimportant," the older fellow responded, "Other than that we do share the same clan, and I once knew your grandfather. A good man, his loss is missed by House Kuonji."

Ukyo barely relaxed by a fraction as she continued to study what she could make out of that handsome face before her, then with a note of hesitation she asked, "Have we...met someplace? You look kinda familiar..."

The other quirked a slight smile at that and said, "In a way you could say that we've passed each other in the night. I came to deliver something that you might find of interest," and with that the tall man put his hand on the counter and pulled it away, leaving a folded piece of paper, which practically vanished as Ukyo snatched it up without hardly seeming to move from her side of the counter.

Ukyo promptly glanced around before unfolding the slip of paper, which same caused her eyes to bug out as she read the name and address enclosed there, then scanned the palm-sized photos that came with it. Her fist balled up and she crushed the note in one hand while staring at the photos with whitened knuckles, looking up again to study the handsome man's face with the worlds growled out, "You found them?"

The other Kuonji nodded, "The two you seek are in the Nerima ward, where I believe you are about to open a restaurant in a few more months as per an agreement you have with your father. However, clandestine research has turned up some extenuating information that might be of interest to you if you still plan to avenge yourself for past transgressions."

"Okay Sugar," Ukyo growled, "I'll bite. What do I owe you for the info?"

"Not a thing," the man said as he regarded her over the rim of his glasses, "Except your promise to hear me out and not go rushing off seeking vengeance. There's a lot more going on here than you realize at the present."

"What's there to realize?" Ukyo shook her fists and glared with all the fierceness of a raging she-wolf, "The old man and his punk kid dumped me on the side of the road and took off with my Dad's okonomiyaki cart..."

"Which was your dowry as per a marriage agreement with one Saotome Ranma," the man continued for her, "I know the whole story, Sugar...are you gonna listen?"

Ukyo did not relax by the slightest fraction but glared at the man with the barest acknowledgement of his statement, "Talk, Sugar...it's your five yen piece."

The tall man lowered his eye shades and smiled at her, "You remind me of somebody else I know, but the important thing to know is that we are Kinsmen and, as such, there is no reason for me to deceive you. At the behest of your late grandfather, I made some inquiries into the activities of the Saotome men, both father and son, and I must say it makes for quite a long telling...the short version of it is that Saotome Genma is indeed every bit the rogue that you believe him to be, having bartered and broken more agreements than you could shake a sauce pan at. The man lives to cause others suffering, and he never thinks about the consequences of his actions, which means you are far from his only victim."

Ukyo blew a laugh, "You're not telling me anything I don't already know. I've actually met some of the people he's walked all over, and that Ranma...!"

"Is oblivious to at least half of his father's crimes," her elder continued for her, "The boy is...very unusual for several reasons, not least of which is that he's managed to somehow maintain a shred of decency in spite of his upbringing. His father has moved the both of them around a lot so as to prevent Ranma from forming attachments or roots anywhere, and as a consequence the boy has very few friends, if any. His life revolves around martial arts, and he is very good...superior, in fact, to Kuonji teaching."

"How can you know that?" Ukyo frowned suspiciously, "Have you fought him?"

"Let's just say I know he's good and leave it at that," the tall man smiled lopsidedly, "You could never defeat him at your current level of training. His speed is unbelievable, and his reflexes would put shame to a cat. However...there is the fact that his life is solely rooted in the Martial Arts. In order to be the best of the best he has learned little else beyond what is necessary for survival. Indeed, a good part of his training is trying to escape the messes he gets into thanks to his idiot father."

There was just the slightest fraction of hesitation in Ukyo's voice before she asked, "How...what is he like these days? If you've met him...?"

"Ranma?" the tall man became unusually wistful, "Well, he's got an Ego the size of Tokyo, and his confidence in his own abilities is literally boundless, but other than that he's a pretty lonely guy, almost an outsider to the normal rules of society. He never backs down from a challenge, he never gives an inch in a fight, and he never surrenders. It's all or nothing with him, and he'll do just about whatever it takes to win, except actual cheating, because cheating would be like admitting he was a coward."

"That's not what I've heard about the guy," Ukyo expression grew hard again, "One guy I ran into claimed he'd backed out on a fight..."

"You mean Hibiki Ryoga?" the young man replied, "I wouldn't go too much on what he's told you, Sugar. The boy's as clueless as he is lacking in a sense of directions. It was his fault for being late to that fight...Ranma waited three days to meet him, only Ryoga showed up on the fourth day and accused Ranma of running away."

"FOUR DAYS?" Ukyo's surprise was so great that she lost part of the edge to her anger, "That is clueless! I guess maybe he's wrong about Ranma on the other things..."

"You mean the bread fight?" the taller man replied, "Naw, that actually happened. Rancha-ah...Saotome has a bottomless pit for a stomach, mainly because he has to fight for every morsel he can get away from his father. Which brings me back to Saotome Genma, the real cause for your problems and Ranma's."

"Him," Ukyo scowled the more deeply, imagining her hands on her baker's peal with the elder Saotome male within striking distance.

"He's the real cause for dumping you on the side of the road, Sugar," the tall man informed her, "Ranma never even knew about the marriage agreement between your fathers...he doesn't even know that you're female. He thinks of you as just some boy he used to play with."

"A BOY?" Ukyo reacted, but then a moment of reflection caused her to backtrack, "Uh...well, I guess I did kind of dress and act like a boy back then...but I can't believe Ranchan could be so dense!"

"Why?" the taller man replied, "The boy doesn't even know that much about women. He's only recently picked up a girlfriend...well, technically anyway...but by the rules of her society they're actually married."

"MARRIED?" Ukyo gripped the counter on the non-grill side and the wood there actually splintered.

"You gonna hear me out?" the older man inquired, "It's quite a long story, and if you're still interested in revenge, I may have a more creative suggestion than having you bash in young Saotome's head, though I wouldn't fault you for doing it to his father."

"I'm listening," Ukyo growled, "Let's have all of the details."

The older Ukyo smiled, satisfied that "his" disguise was indeed foolproof, as his younger counterpart could hardly be expected to penetrate the effective mask of masculinity in which he was presently surrounded. The mere fact that there was a Kuonji Toshiro-a very distant relation on her father and Aunt's side of the family-only made his disguise all the more foolproof, and now that he had aroused the passions in his younger counterpart it would be relatively easy to manipulate her into doing what the older Ukyo wanted. A few words of encouragement and she would be rushing off to join the fun happening in Nerima, and if-as Ukyo suspected-her Aunt Yumi decided to tag along and met up with Tendo Soun...the results should be an effective checkmate to any plans that the two fathers might hatch up between them.

In a way she regretted using her younger self this way, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that it was all for the best, and she had promised Shampoo that she would not interfere with her marriage to Ranma on this timeline. Her turn would come the next time around, when Shampoo would be assisting her in arranging it so that Ukyo could have her Ranchan. This timeline's Ukyo would be liberated from her years of shame and humiliation and visit her vengeance upon Genma but would repair her tattered friendship with her childhood sparring partner. Becoming friend to Ranma and Shampoo would be a good way of insuring that this Ukyo did not go on to be alone and friendless.

Of course convincing her younger self about things like Cursed Springs and magical buckets would take some doing, but her memories of times spent in the Jubaan area would make it all the more easy. After all, how much more improbable than Sex-Changing splashes of water were random encounters with Youma?

She briefly wondered what her old friend Makoto was doing at the moment, then dismissed the thought as a needless distraction. This was another Ukyo's timeline, and the older Ukyo was determined to see that her chance for a new life without bitterness was insured in at least one lifetime.

The next turn around, however, would be hers to claim, and Ukyo was resolved to see it happen. If Shampoo could be insured a life of happiness with Ranma, then so could she, and no one-not fathers or rival fianc es-were going to stand in the way of achieving that future!

She only hoped Shampoo would carry through on her half of the agreement, but for some strange reason she was finding it harder these days to suspect her companion in mischief of harboring such unfriendly motives. There was something different about Shampoo that Ukyo had been noticing recently, and she had yet to decide for a fact if it was a change for good or ill, though privately she found she was starting to grow mighty fond of the Purple haired wonder...and she had no idea at all what that might portend for their own mutual future.

If only this male body she was presently wearing did not react so uncomfortably when her mind turned in Shampoo's direction. Thank the Kami it was only temporary, though, the effects of Instant Nanniichuan water, though it did cause her to wonder exactly why Cologne had insisted on giving Ukyo more than just one package...

She dismissed the idea. Surely the curse could not affect her the extent that she would actually change inside as well as out? Ranma had always been a guy in spite of his curse...though there were times when he acted in such a way that it prompted Ukyo to wonder, which made her very eager to conclude her business and get home in time for a dash of restorative hot water. Imagine being trapped as a guy forever? That would sure cause changes in her outlook!

Thus resolved to continue with her plans, she carefully worded her outlining of Ranma's past history to her younger self, emphasizing words that she hoped would steer the other Ukyo in the right direction, thus insuring that everything would turn out for the better. Any other thoughts beyond this were better left shelved for the future to resolve. She had given her word to help Shampoo out this time around, and as a Kuonji, she was bound and determined to fulfill the terms of her giri...

Regardless of any personal consequences...

Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Welcome to the New Millennium: shadowmane

Has it been another thousand years already? Well, sorry about the long delay, but I finally have this chapter where it's ready for submission. Next time around we see what plans the two Kuonji's hatch together, while Ukyo and Shampoo continue to observe the timeline that they have made unfold, but will it spell ultimate happiness for Shampoo and Ranma? That's for the future to determine...so please kindly be there for the resolution of this half of the saga!

Jim R. Bader

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If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: . All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


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